Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error

When you use USB devices in Windows, Windows will load and install a device driver to communicate with the new USB device. A lot of standard USB device drivers are included with Windows XP, even more in Vista, Windows 7 and 8. But if the USB device is not supported by Windows, you will see a USB device not recognized error like the one below.

You can try unplugging the USB device, waiting a few seconds and plugging it back, but chances are the error will remain.

Another error message that is common is the message Unrecognized device has been found.

When you open the Windows Device Manager from the Control Panel, you will generally see the USB device under the Other devices or Unknown devices category.

In case of an external hard disk, you may also get the error:

One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it.

Also keep in mind that if you don’t have the right USB drivers for your device, Windows might be using a default, compatible driver, which restricts the performance or limits the features of your USB device. This is particularly true for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports.

How to fix a USB device not recognized error.

Considering the fact that in most cases the USB device driver is missing in Windows, the common solution to fixing the USB device not recognized error is to install the driver for the USB device. In most cases new USB devices come with a driver CD which contains the USB driver that needs to be installed. If you do not have a driver CD, you can try to find and download the USB device driver on the manufacturer’s website.

In case you really can not find the device driver for the USB device, you can use a driver finder program. Such a program will find and download device drivers on your PC based on the hardware that it automatically identifies. Even if your USB device is not plugged anymore, the application will be able to find and download a USB driver for it.

When you do have a driver CD, it’s still smart to use a driver update program to get an updated driver for your USB device. Drivers on CDs are quite often outdated and updated drivers can solve problems, improve performance and add features.

A second benefit to a driver finder program is that it can update all outdated drivers on your system. This means that the system or chipset drivers will also be updated, including the USB chipset drivers on your motherboard. This could also solve the USB device not recognized error, whether it is a USB 2.0 port or USB 3.0 port.

Other methods to repair the USB device not recognized error

In case the USB driver update does not solve the USB device not recognized error, there are a few other things that you can try to solve the error.

If your USB device is using a separate USB cable, try changing the cable to make sure the USB cable is not defective. For external hard disks that are not recognized, a shorter USB cable can sometimes help as the power voltage can be a problem in those cases.

If you are getting a USB not recognized error when you are trying to connect a mobile phone or MP3 player, check the configuration options on the device itself. The settings often allow the device to be configured as a Mass Storage Device, which can solve the problem.

Check the BIOS of your computer to make sure the USB ports are configured properly. Most new USB devices work best with the USB 2.0 configuration, but in some cases you might need to change the USB to “legacy” support, which means version 1.1.

Disable the power management of USB hubs on your computer. This can sometimes help with certain USB devices, especially if the problem happens with power state changes (resume from hibernation for example).

In the Device Manager, right-click the Universal Serial Bus controllers device and select Uninstall in the popup menu. Now reboot and Windows will reinstall the device.

In case you are using a USB hub, try plugging the USB device directly into the computer instead of in the USB hub. USB hubs often cause compatibility problems with certain USB devices. The cause can be the USB version compatibility or a USB power limitation.

Try shutting down the computer altogether and unplug it from the power supply. Wait for a few minutes before plugging it back again and starting it. In case you are using a laptop, also unplug the laptop battery in this step.

Delete the related registry key under “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB” from the Windows registry. Each USB device has an entry there starting with “VID_”. Find the related entry to your USB device and then delete it. Make sure you make a backup of the registry before deleting anything!
Restart Windows and then try plugging the USB device again.

Specifically for Windows XP, there is another possible solution that is related to the Windows Registry. This pertains to removing the UpperFilters and LowerFilters registry values. Microsoft has a knowledge base article on how to do this.

Further useful programs to deal with USB problems are USBDeview, which is a freeware utility to view USB devices, and USB View from Microsoft. They show a lot more about your USB devices than the Device Manager does, so they can be helpful to pinpoint problematic USB devices. The USB View program from Microsoft has the advantage that it shows the hierarchy, so you can see which device is connected to which USB Controller and USB Hub. But the program is part of the Microsoft development tools, so unless you can find a reliable individual download, you need to install complete development environment.

Most USB device not recognized errors can be solved with one of the above solutions. If you have any other solutions, or a USB problem that did not get solved using these tips, please leave a comment and I’ll get right on it!

Comments

119 Comments on Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error

Thanks for the articles help me to sort out the problem i faced while connect USB TV to my PC.

joe b on
Fri, 18th Dec 2009 9:51 pm

Hello, I tried all of your suggestions but am still getting the “unrecognized” error. When I plug in a USB device that has its own power (like an external hard drive with its own power source) it works, but usb drives and ipods, etc. do not register. Just started happening yesterday.

Don on
Tue, 22nd Dec 2009 12:05 am

I don’t get an “device unrecognized error”…it just doesn’t see it or as to install a driver for the device (flash drive, ext HD, printer, etc.) although the devices light up when plugged into the USB port…so they are getting power. And device manager shows that all USB controllers are working properly. All the devices I am trying work on other PC’s. I am running Windows XP W/SP2 although this started when I updated to SP3, which I have now uninstalled.

@joe b – Try uninstalling the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager. When you reboot Windows, they will automatically be reinstalled. After that, try again.

@Don – Same for you, even though thing appear to be working, still try and uninstall the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager. Reinstalling them can help. You can even uninstall the USB Controller (one level higher).
Another thing to try is to disable the power disable on the USB Root Hub devices. Right-click the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager, and select Properties in the popup menu. Select the Power Management tab and clear the checkbox in front of “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.
This prevents the USB hub to go to suspend mode, which could also cause the failed detection.

Don on
Tue, 22nd Dec 2009 3:19 am

Anthony….thanks but I already tried all those things, several times! But thanks for the input.

Anthony on
Thu, 24th Dec 2009 11:18 am

@Don – Did you try viewing the hidden devices in the Device Manager? Sometimes plugged or unplugged devices will show there and uninstalling them can also help recognizing them again. In Vista you can simply select Show hidden devices in the View menu, in XP you will need to add a registry key before you can see hidden devices.

I have went to the device manage and right clicked on the Universal serial bus controllers but it does not give me the option to uninstall them. Only if i click the plus sign and they all drop down it gives me the option to uninstall them one by one? Im confused please help.

@angela – You are right, I’ll update the article to clarify, but you should indeed open it up by clicking the plus sign and then uninstall the USB Root Hub devices under it. Ideally you only uninstall the one that has the problematic device connected, but if you do not know, just uninstall them all and they will be reinstalled.

Panther on
Mon, 28th Dec 2009 1:13 am

hi, my problem is with my USB i too get that message regarding windows and the problemmatic usb issue….
recently i got my gf a kodak digital camera for a earlie x-mas, it worked fine a week ago, i plugged it in, would load and upload no problem…now…..for somereason it dose not???? i keep getting the USB popup saying windows cannot recoggnise the usb device.

im beginning to think its the camera?!?!?!? i looked in my device manager window and dose not suggest problems or device failures………nothing…..i can plugging my flash drives and they load normally?!?!??….arg~ its rather anoying. i tryed alot of online solutions nothing…..delet this…remove that….install this….restart/wwait 30mins……notta.

how can i tell if it is actually MY end or the camera end???
regarding the BIOS, i wouldnt know anything about that or how to get to it -.-
camera it self works perfectly…..the cd it comes with SHOULD have drivers to install, but again my labtop isnt recoggnising these or something, somewhere…..
=====

inshort;
-i plug in my camera to my computer and windows pops up with ‘device not recoggnised’ issue…
-now when i plug my camera in to my usb port(s)[tryed all 4] nothing happens,,,,,,,
maby it is the camera?!?!?!??! since i still can use my flash drives~

thanks for imput if any…..

Panther(Canadian) on
Mon, 28th Dec 2009 3:52 am

got a bit more details to point out, i should also point out…….
===
“In the Device Manager, right-click the Universal Serial Bus controllers device and select Uninstall in the popup menu. Now reboot and Windows will reinstall the device. ”
=======
[above]i have a pull out tab under ‘universal serial bus controller device’ and in that i have 4 lables….including;
-standard enhanced PCI to usb host controller
-standard openHCD usb host controller
-usb root hub
-usb root hub
=========
i would try to do the instructions above about uninstalling, however i am a bit weirey about doing so concidering the fact my girlfriend dose NOT have her original windows OS disc on hand, should there be any problems.

====
im almost certain that its not my USB ports anymore only due to the fact, i can still plug in other devices and they respond/work or get powered……..now, when i connect my camera usb dock, windows dosent even give me the pop up about ”USB Device Not Recognized Error” . . . camera powers down when i connect it to the computer, as soon as i remove it, camera powers back up……soo…..im still stumpped, advice is dire needed!!! going nuts here…..

@Panther – Well, there is a simple method to confirm if it is the camera or cable and that is to plug it into a different computer. Maybe at a relative or friend? That will definitely be the best first step considering your scenario.

PrideCommodore-PanzerElite on
Mon, 28th Dec 2009 2:58 pm

……yeah i had thought of that no doubt…..
and secondly…….
…well as oddly as it is, i woke up 30 mins ago to get ready for work, and thought ”why not just try and see for giggles…” too my amazement, it worked?!?!?!?!? just randomly, i dont know why or how… but it worked and continues to work normaly.

baffles me nonetheless ill just take it and leave it as is. if i have problems ill be sure to head back here with results.
im guessing ONE of the steps i did above worked but wich one i honestly dont know, since the time it took to be fixed.

Hi Anthony,
I read all of the instructions and feedback above regarding the Unrecognized USB Device Error… I have an HP 500GB Personal Media Drive, (hd5000s), That I have been using for a couple of years or so without any problems, However as of a few days ago I am now getting an error that the USB device is not recognized and the light on the drive just flashes… This same error happens whether I slide the drive into the HP Desktop slot or plug it into the Desktop’s or a Laptop’s USB port via cable… I am a photographer and have over 150,000 important photos on this drive… I have a similar 300GB drive – This sounds mechanical or electrical within the drive’s case and most likely unrelated to the drive itself so I am wondering if there is some way that I can take the drive itself out of the 500GB case and place it in the 300GB case… I can’t see an obvious way to open the cases to try and do the exchange?????
Any additional help or advice that you might have on this matter would be greatly appreciated… Thanks… De

@De Embree – I do not have a HP media driver, but i did read that you can open the disks up by pulling back the plastics strips on either side of the enclosure.
Exchanging the disks might be possible, but make sure you check they are compatible. I thought the original disks were PATA and I am not sure if the new ones are SATA. You can always connect the internal HDD as an internal hard disk in the computer of course (assuming you have the space for it).

Thanks Anthony…
I was able to open the USB enclosure and move the HD to another identical enclosure (they are SATA) however I am still getting the Unrecognized USB device error so it is obviously related somehow to the drive itself… I looked at installing the drive internally but the cable and power connections are different than those inside my desktop… I am at a loss as to what else to try…
De

@De Embree – One option is to get a generic hard disk enclosure for external disk and not use a HP media drive bay. But… it would be better to simply attache the HDD directly into a computer on a SATA connector to make sure the disk is not defect. If possible go to a computer store and ask them if they can check the disk on a SATA controller. If you tell them you will buy a drive bay for it if it still works, I am sure they will help ;)

Thanks very much Anthony… I will be in the city later this week and will see if I can get the ole ‘Geek Squad’ or someone to take a look at it… Appreciate your time and advice… De

Sam on
Thu, 7th Jan 2010 10:27 am

Hi Anthony,
Yesterday, my brother had a problem with his iphone. he said that when he updated cydia his iphone was turned off. so i plugged it to my laptop through the usb, and at the same time i plugged my usb modem, after couple minutes, i lost internet connection on laptop and it couldn’t read my usb modem anymore although it works fine with my flash drive. i tried to uninstall the device, restore the computer. still having same message ” USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED”.
AND STILL CAN’T USE INTERNET. please help

@Sam – Two things I can suggest: 1) use a system restore point to restore the Windows configuration from before you connected your brother’s iPhone, or 2) Uninstall the iPhone in the Device Manager (you might need to select Show hidden devices in the View menu first).

John on
Fri, 8th Jan 2010 3:34 pm

Hey out there, I too have a USB (flash drive) problem. When I plug it into any port on several different computers, I get the message “USB not recognized”. I tried several of these different fix methods but it ain’t working. The thing is my flash drive was working fine for about a year and then I dropped it (it’s on my keychain) in the snow. Shortly after that it stopped being recognized. There use to be a green power light on it but now that light is red, and I noticed the little clear plastic piece covering the light is dislodged and was floating around inside the casing. I have since carefully cut off the casing to get that piece out of there and to see if I could notice anything visually diffective, but I have had no luck. I have noticed however, on the oppisite side of where you plug the flash drive into the usb port, another exposed part of the circuit board that looks like it could get plugged into something else. Maybe just a little bigger than a usb port. Is there any way to access the drive from this end? Please help! What can I do? Thanks, John.

@John – Electronics are very sensitive to water so the stick might really not work anymore. Regarding the other end, I suspect that is a connector that is used during manufacturing for testing, not sure if you can use it or if the results would be any better. If you have very important data on it, you will need to take it to a specialist.

Bruce on
Mon, 11th Jan 2010 3:18 am

Similar to this but perhaps different. I have a Dell Inspiron 1150 notebook in which the machine doesn’t register any USB devices. It delivers power through the port sufficent to drive a 35W external stereo speaker set. All diagnostic tools I have used eg. USB sniffer either can’t find a device. Alternatively they say that the USB controllers and hubs are working correctly. The machine has the correct drivers (recently updated from Dell). On plugging in a Transcend 2Gb USB Mass Storage Device the following happens – the led lights but doesn’t flicker indicating that there is no traffic. USB Sniffer can’t create a session for the same reason. Can you tell me if you have found this problem before? If so was the problem a chip on the motherboard? Is the only solution a new M/board?

@Bruce – I assume you have tested the USB devices on another computer and know that they are working. Did you check the Disk Management module under computer management to see if the USB disks show up there at all? (right-click My computer and select Manage in the popup menu)
Sometimes a registry problem can also cause problems with USB device detection, but normally that gets fixed if you uninstall the hidden USB devices (devices that have been plugged and detected in the past).

Eve on
Tue, 12th Jan 2010 6:46 pm

Hi, I have the same USB problem (Code 43) and have tried everything I’ve found on the internet: uninstalled the drives in device manager, updated BIOS, updated all drives both on Windows and HP (I’m using Compaq Presario CQ40-121TU on Windows 7), did system restore to the day before the problem started. I’ve been using Windows 7 for about 2 months with no problems, and then couple of days ago it suddenly didn’t recognise any of the laptop’s 3 ports. It powers the devices up but doesn’t recognise them. I’ve tried all of the devices (mouse, Kingston, iPhone, camera) on another laptop working on XP and have no problems. I’m completely at wits end!

@Eve – Code 43 is really a driver related error according to the Microsoft Device Manager error codes description. From your description it seems like the USB Root Hub device has the problem. Try removing them in the Device Manager under the Universal Serial Bus Controller class. Windows will reinstall them when you reboot.

hibiscus168 on
Wed, 27th Jan 2010 4:28 am

Help please!!!! I am an average home computer user.
I have an intermittent, ongoing problem with USB device not recognised message. I’m using Toshiba laptop L300, with newly installed windows 7 professsional 32 bit.
It is always the logitech mouse and the Epson CX3900 printer/scanner which are affected. If one malfunctions, the other one does as well.
Code 43 error does not help. I have tried EVERYTHING I have found on various help websites to no avail. This includes uninstalling and reinstalling USB Root Hubs, switching off power save under power management in device manager, system restore etc.
All drivers are up to date – regularly scanned and updated using Uniblue.

@hibiscus168 – Windows 7 still lacks a lot of support for many printers. Did you try getting the latest Windows 7 compatible printer drivers for your Epson CX3900?
Does it make a difference if you plug the mouse and printer in different USB ports? Sometimes not all ports are USB 2.0 compatible.

Regarding the updated drivers, the Uniblue DriverScanner is one of the least updated products actually. Together with DriverAgent that is the last one I would use. DriverFinder, Driver Detective and Driver Robot are the most updated driver tools.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes I have tried everthing you suggested! The problem is intermittent, comes and goes at random.
All is ok at the moment. Maybe something has finally worked.

Nerrisha on
Mon, 1st Feb 2010 6:48 pm

Hi, I also have a 500G USB and it worked perfectly until recently. Now the hardware icon comes up on the toolbar but I am unable to see the device under My Computer. The light on the device just keeps flashin forever. What do I do?

@Nerrisha – Flashing in general means data is being transferred, but it could simply be that Windows is trying to read the drive. Check if you see the device in the Windows Device Manager and is a device manager error is indicated (icon with yellow question mark or red exclamation mark). Let me know the error code if so.

Also check the Disk Management console to see if it shows up there. Right-click the My Computer and select Manage in the popup menu. Maybe the disk is there, but the file system is not recognized.

aja on
Mon, 1st Feb 2010 10:57 pm

anthony~
i’ve tried your method
after i reboot my laptop(windows7),
the drivers are re-installed as u said(i uninstalled all the hub since i dont know which hub had problem)
and then in the process of re-installing~
all hub is ready to be used
except for one~
it keeps searching preconfigured driver folders… for ages
and why is that?
thanks in advance

aja on
Mon, 1st Feb 2010 11:04 pm

@anthony
sorry for wasting your time
i’ve solved it
forgot to take off the cooling fan~
its alright now
and your method works!!
thank you very much!

melody on
Wed, 3rd Feb 2010 12:20 am

@anthony after i re-installed them,it totally worked,and then after a day, the’ USB device not recognized..’ error msg comes back.is there anything wrong with my hardware

i unninstalled a driver for my ipod and i unplugged it now windows is showing it as unknown device please help me there is no question mark on it please help me

Margaret Anne Stevens on
Sun, 7th Feb 2010 12:16 am

Still having intermittent problem with ‘USB device not working’ message.
The mouse stops working randomly and the message flashes. The message continues to flash even when the device is unplugged. Usually resolves when I reboot the computer, but not every time.
I have installed ‘Driver Detective’ and all relevant drivers are up to date.

Eve on
Sun, 7th Feb 2010 12:42 pm

Hi Anthony,

Here’s what I’ve done:
uninstalled the drives in device manager,
updated BIOS,
updated all drives both on Windows and HP,
system restore to the day before the problem started,
hotfix from KB Article Number 976972,
Registry Edit,
full hardware diagnostics,

When I connect the devices to any of the 3 USB ports they are powered up, but Windows is not able to read them. It looks to me like there is a software error, especially that the error pop-up window keeps coming up every few minutes, even though I have not connected any USB devices.

@robinsjanis – First try reinstalling the driver for your iPod. If that does not help, you might need to find and remove the registry entry related to it as indicated in the article. That will force Windows to redetect the device when plugged and reinstall the driver.

@Margaret Anne Stevens – It might not even be related to the mouse, but to another USB device. Try unplugging all other USB devices if you have any and see if the message comes up. Is this on a laptop or a desktop computer?

@Eve – Seems you have tried a lot. It could of course always be that some hardware is really broken. Have you tried a system file check? Type “sfc /scannow” to check and correct Windows system files. If a standard USB driver is corrupted, that can fix it.
Only other option I see is reinstalling Windows…

Hibiscus168 on
Mon, 8th Feb 2010 1:37 am

Hi, I accidently logged in last time with my name (Margaret Anne Stevens). Please refer to my previous, recent posts for information.

Eve on
Mon, 8th Feb 2010 8:23 pm

Hi Anthony,

Finally the only thing that helped was reinstalling Windows and I’m going back to Vista for now. I even contacted Microsoft and they had no clue, so guess it’s safer to stick to Vista till they update W 7.

@Hibiscus168 – The one thing that you could still try is to get and use an external USB hub. Connect the printer to that and the mouse directly to the computer.

@Eve – Thanks for letting us know. Unfortunate that you had to go back, but I am actually also using Vista (64-bit) at the moment and have no plans to switch to Windows 7. Way to new, and far too many unsupported hardware. Even a lot of (older) software needs to be run in Compatibility Mode still.

Strauss on
Tue, 16th Feb 2010 10:16 am

Hi all… I recently bought a usb extension so that i could move my printer but every time i use the extension i get the usb device not recognized error…

@Strauss – Could be that the total cable length is too long now, especially USB 2.0 should not go beyond 5 meters without a hub or repeater solution. Connections also don’t help, it would be better to simply get a longer printer cable.
But the cable could also simply be broken, have you tried it with another USB device?
Another solution is to go wireless, HP for example has a bluetooth wireless printer adapter for this, which is available from Amazon.

Bronski on
Sat, 27th Feb 2010 2:21 am

Hello, Anthony

When I connect my HP personal media drive to one of the HP laptop’s USB port, I receive the following message error USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED (same as the message above). The hard drive activity LED indicator is flashing, and the power on LED indicator stays blue.

I have tried all of the suggestions above but the HP drive continues to display the same message. Please help!!

@Bronski – I suggest you first try the disk on a different computer, to identify if it is the disk or your laptop.
Does the disk have a separate power supply or only a USB connection?

john on
Mon, 1st Mar 2010 10:50 am

had the same usb problems diconected the sd card reader .usb flash drive found and working usb external found and working .after two months of installing unistalling was about to cut loses with windows 7 and go back to vista

Bronski on
Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 3:00 am

Hi, Anthony

Thank you for your prompt reply. The disk has a seperate power supply plug on 110 volt AC. I have tried the disk on another computer and with no success.

Any suggestions?

Thank you for your time and efforts. I appreciate your assistance in this problem.

Bronski

Bronski on
Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 3:03 am

One more question Anthony, should I disconnect the SD Card Reader as suggested by (John)?

@Bronski – You can try, but if it also does not work on a different computer, it is more likely that the disk itself has a problem…

vishal on
Wed, 17th Mar 2010 6:09 am

Hi Anthony,

I have a Kingstone 8 GB drive which is getting detected in my PC. But in Device manager it is not able to recognoze the drivers. And because of this the drive is not being scanned in disk manger and is not visible.

But the same flash drive is getting detected in other machines and the drive letters too.

But ony my machine has a problem. I feel that my admin guy has tweaked the things in registry and may be has applied some grp policy or something for dening the USB access ..

the same thing that is happening to Don is happening to me where he wrote his first comment and I ended up uninstalling one of my USB Root Hubs by mistake and now it is gone…I only have three left.
Please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@Aeish – When you restart Windows it will detect the USB Root Hub device again and install it. If not, try running the “sfc /scannow” command at a command prompt with admin rights.

C Garner on
Mon, 29th Mar 2010 12:07 pm

All the help I find related to (usb device not recognized) assume that I have a usb device plugged in. I dont. When I restart the computer sometimes there is no pop-up message but it returns if I plug in a usb device. Normally the message pops up as soon as the startup is completed. So, you see, I have no device to unplug or update driver for. I just want to get rid of the message. Can I turn it off?

@C Garner – My friend Andy actually informed me that he got some questions pertaining to the USB notification, so he prepared instructions to disable USB error notifications in Vista. Think the same applies to XP and Windows 7 as well, so you can try if it helps in your case.

Hi Anthony, and all the folks in search of a solution. I feel like I have been living in the Twilight Zone since I started looking for a solution. My first Google search gave me back only 120,000 pages.

What is almost funny is that this is a problem that afflicted a number of folks ever since XP. The not quite funny think is that Microsoft has no clue how to fix it. I have spent many hours making sure that I haven’t missed any solution.

I am back at the beginning doing the sfc /scannow that you recommend. Will report back if I survive . . .

chan on
Thu, 15th Apr 2010 6:29 pm

my laptop has the same porblem.
it’s been like a month…
i been tring everything i could …
unplugg … deleted things and let it upload again.
actullay i did format…
still not working…
guess its either motherboard or … just some bullshit.
help me out plz………
im about to call the engineer…
im sure they gonna charge money….
oh and my laptop is window-vista.
funny thing is it suddenly stopped working ..
i will be waiting for ur email

Rani on
Wed, 5th May 2010 3:21 am

Can somebody plz plz plz plz help me…I have did everything to fix my mp4 but its still not working…everytimes i insert the usb in the computer it always says usb device not recognized..i have reinstalled the device many times but it still doesnt work…can someone plz tell me wat to do…an easy way this problem can be solved….thankyou

@Alfred – If you say 3 USB ports are not working, do you mean none of the USB devices you plug is recognized? Or only a specific device?
And what is your Windows version?

eskander on
Sat, 5th Jun 2010 12:26 am

Hey anthony ,
How it’s going ?

In fact i have a problem with my driverless cam and this happens when i plug it in,every time a pop-up shows and says that it is not recognised by more than one pc i have tried the cam on ,even though it was working out first time i bought it and after bringing it back from a friend i have leant it to him ,so i don’t know what is the big deal with it though i checked the ports and tried it from more than one interface of the several cases i tried it on , it’s confusing me and i don’t know what to do about it !
i hope u can find me some solutions and i would be gratful for you .

Thanks .

sarah on
Sat, 5th Jun 2010 7:57 pm

my mp3 player won’t connect. it says the USB is not recognized…

Penny on
Sun, 4th Jul 2010 1:25 pm

C Garner I had exactly the same problem. Then I remembered that a few days before I had been copying photos from my cruzer micro 8GB memory stick onto my computer and when I had finished I had pulled the stick out of the computer rather than clicking on the ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ icon. I put the stick back in and this time clicked on this and highlighed my cruzer and waited until I got the message saying it was safe to remove hardware. This fixed the problem

Shaikh on
Tue, 6th Jul 2010 6:14 am

I had tried the same solution but still it gives out the same functions even my USB Devices also didn’t work on any other computer system, and it give out the same error in all the computer’s I had tried kindly do something for this…

@Shaikh – If the USB device does not work on any other computer as well, it is most likely that the device is broken. Have you tried different Windows versions (XP, Vista, Windows 7)? All the same result?

@Tessa – Windows updates are generally important, but I don’t install them automatically because they have caused problems in rare occasions as well. Second to that Microsoft likes to install a whole lot of stuff through the Update feature that I do not need, nor want on my system.
Regarding the USB device, simply try it on a different computer to see if it works there.

jj on
Sat, 24th Jul 2010 3:25 pm

hi. I got same error message too. mp3 players, mobilephones, flash drives, printers. they are not recognize on all of the 6 usb ports. so I tried, turning off and unplugging the pc from the poweroutlet, also shorted the bios, disable/enable the usb from the bios, editing the registry, uninstalling/installing the device as well as the drivers, changing hardrives installing new OS, turning off the power of usb root hub, updating drivers, change power supplies and still failed to fixed the problem. all of the usb device that I tried works on a a differnt computer.

@jj – At least install the latest service packs and patches for your Windows version in case you haven’t, but if you already tried reinstalling your complete OS, chances are there is really something wrong with your USB ports. What is your Windows version?
And what is your computer model, or motherboard model?

jj on
Sun, 25th Jul 2010 9:17 pm

Anthony, yes i also updated the driver of the mother board. model is msi pl45neo. now I have a new option. there is this internal usb that you will plug in on the pci slot. a lot cheaper than to buy a new mobo. :) hope it will work. I’ll let you know if it will work.

@jj – Yes, that is always an option, insert a PCI card with extra USB ports. Hope it works indeed!

Wilson on
Mon, 26th Jul 2010 10:52 pm

I just started having this issue today. I had several USB devices plugged into a desktop PC; keyboard, mouse, wireless-n adapter, etc. Today none of them will work and in fact, any other device (including just a standard USB mouse) will not work. “USB Device Not Recognized” is the message I receive.

I have uninstalled/re-installed, unplugged/re-plugged, updated, etc. I’m certain that the peripherals themselves are fine (as the chances of the all going out are almost 0%.) I read a mention of checking voltages but I can find no option to do so in the BIOS. I’m leaning towards a bad power supply but have no way to confirm this 100% without just buying a new one.

Sherry on
Wed, 28th Jul 2010 1:14 pm

After agonizing over this for two days, I unplugged the laptop and let the battery run down. Next morning, voila! The USB port is working again!

rose on
Fri, 10th Sep 2010 6:37 pm

Please help!

I have a WD 5000BEV External USB device that is not recognized anymore by my pc because I save some files from another corrupted pc. Thanks much appreciated.

@rose – Unless your other PC corrupted the disk or infected the disk with a virus, the external hard disk should still be fine. Again there are quite a few things to try to troubleshoot external hard disk problem (apart from the general tips in this article). Have a look at this article about troubleshooting external HDD errors. Hope it helps.

The problem appeared a week ago. I’ll try to picture the situation and what was going on in last two weeks, since I’m not sure what might actually cause the problem.

I had not noticed any troubles running all the USB devices on the machine before, mostly keeping connected them all. Each and everyone I used to disconnect sometimes when needed and reconnect later without troubles.
Two weeks ago I left for holiday. When leaving, I disconnected (safely remove hardware) external HDD (there’s like a complete copy of my PC plus Fedora OS installed on it) and I left PC turned on because I wanted to test a remote connection – web based service LogMeIn, which I installed a few days before. (The PC was left on for nine days in total.)
First four days I tried to log in to my PC remotely from another computer (LogMeIn service), successfully, everything’s fine, even webcam working as well. The fifth day I logged in I noticed one thing – I could not turn on webcam for some reason (I checked event viewer – the only major thing going on that day on my PC was Google Talk Plugin installation). The webcam could not be found by the system.
When I came back, I realised that all my USB devices cannot be recognized suddenly for some reason, except one – wireless desktop receiver, that one workes always fine. Nothing else does. When I plug in a USB device, message pops up – USB device not recognized, however, another message says drivers installed successfully. In Device Manager it’s Unknown Device. I’ve tried all my USB devices on various ports. My external HDD is not recognized even in BIOS (HDD is bootable), not appearing in Disk Management, however, the light control is on when I connect it.
I’ve spent last several days going through various forums. I’ve tried disconnecting all the USB devices, uninstalling devices, drivers, even hidden ones in Device Manager, even using USBDevView utility, deleting INFCACHE.1 file, then shutting down the PC, disconnecting it from power supply for about 30 minutes… I’ve tried to load up BIOS defaults… All the drivers seem to be up to date. I haven’t tried deleting registry keys yet, I wouldn’t dare without any more info about it.
There is a lot of people with such a problem, however, on most forums there’s no solution posted finally. I haven’t tried reinstalling Vista so far, since I’m not sure that could help ( and it actually never helped those on the forums who tried the option). I hope you can help, there must be a cause and a solution.

@Paul – Considering what you have tried, I do not have an immediate solution as well. Just one question, have you tried plugging a new USB device (a USB device that has not been connected to your computer before)?
I am wondering if it is a configuration issue pertaining to the ‘old’ devices only or to all devices.

Paul on
Tue, 9th Nov 2010 9:25 am

@Anthony – Yes, I have tried plugging a new USB device, no difference. However, there is an update: I have disabled USB2 controller and all the devices now get recognized running USB1.1. But that’s not a solution. I’ll try to uninstall USB port hub just in case, maybe that caused the issues (I’ve notice a message popping up once saying something about a pretty big consumption of a USB device – 70% and my comp was running very slow and low on memory, I disabled the device, it was USB port hub, and comp runs OK since). Once USB hub uninstalled, I’ll re-enable USB2 controller and see if it helps.

niraj on
Tue, 9th Nov 2010 12:45 pm

sir i have intel pentium 4 processor with 8085 motherboard whenever I have been going to coneect my cell phone(LG KG195) with usb cable then a message appear “usb device not recognised” with message “one of the usb device attached to this computer has malfunctioned and windows does not recognized it for assistance in solving this problem, click this message” how to solve solve this problem ?

@niraj – Have you tried downloading and installing the LG USB drivers for your mobile phone?
You need to download the LG Mobile Support Tool for that.

Paul on
Wed, 10th Nov 2010 8:04 am

@Anthony – so I uninstalled USB port hub and re-enabled USB2 controller – at the moment all the devices became not recognized. I disabled the controller again and it’s all being recognized… Just don’t know what to do next.

vincent on
Fri, 12th Nov 2010 8:21 am

sir i have intel mother board,if i connect the hp laser printer 1007 through usb cable then a message appear “usb device not recognised” with message “one of the usb device attached to this computer has malfunctioned and windows does not recognized it for assistance in solving this problem, click this message” how to solve solve this problem ?

@Paul – Is that a USB 2.0 hub that you are using? And does it have an external power supply? It is one of the few things remaining that I can think of: the USB hub is USB 1.1 or the overall power consumption on the USB is causing problems (it is limited to 100 mA per device in USB 2.0, totaling 500 mA per port).
External hard disks, those without external power are also known to draw a lot of power.

@Vincent – Did you install the driver for the HP Laser printer 1007 first?

Kevyn on
Wed, 15th Dec 2010 12:12 am

Paul, Anthony,
Needless to say I am experiencing these problems which I believe only started after I decide to connect my USB via 4 port hub.
I have observed many theories and tried disbaling, uninstalling etc but no joy.
I am desperate to get the data on this particular USB, others work ok on the same port.
paul, where have you disabled the USB2 controller?
I am running Windows XP Professional, Version 2002 SP3.

Any help would be appreciated,

K.

Kevyn on
Wed, 15th Dec 2010 12:21 am

Hi Paul, Anthony,

Forgot to mention:
a) problem occurs when I plug the USB in to @3 different PC’s, laptops
b) other USB sticks using the same USB port function ok.
c) The 4 port hub: I am unsure if it is 1.1 or 2.0
d) There is no identification on my USB, is it possible to find via an alternative method to check out the possible drivers.
e) In ‘device management’, my usb comes up as an ‘Unknown Device’
f) I have deactivated, uninstalled, removed all of the controllers etc but with no joy.

Again as I say, all help would be appreciated!

K.

Paul on
Tue, 21st Dec 2010 5:44 pm

@ Kevyn
To disable the USB2 controller go to Device Manager, find Universal Serial Bus Controllers under which you should find a USB2 Host Controller (I don’t know which one you have installed, mine is Intel) and disable it. Your USB device should work then, however, you might experience some troubles with devices requiring USB2 controller.
@ Anthony
So far I have been unable to find out what’s wrong in my case. I have disconnected the USB hub, disconnected the external hard disk (both without an external power supply), however, no joy at all.
Sorry for late answer, but I’ve already kinda given up…
and will have to get a new comp I guess.

@Kevyn – The fact that it comes up as an unknown device is not a good sign, it seems that you will need some driver for that hub, although that is a rather rare in itself.

Kumel on
Sun, 20th Mar 2011 5:37 pm

Heyy.
I have a Predator dual (USB, PS2) port gamepad.
Apparantely the USB wire got cut and I tried replacing it with another USB data cable I had lying around. I connected everything according to the color codes on both, the gamepad side and the data cable USB wire.
When I plug in the gamepad into the USB port in the computer and powerup the gamepad, I get a Windows Unrecognised Device (code 43) error.
Am I messing up the wires or the data cable USB and the gamepad USB may be different?
Please note, the gamepad is a plug and play device.
Any help appreciated.
Kumel.

@Kumel – Replacing the USB cable should work as long as you keep the pin layout and cable colors the same.
But the code 43 error in the Device Manager indicates that there is a problem with the device, so I am thinking you did not get the cable replacement quite right yet.
Did the gamepad work with Windows before the cable problem?

Kumel on
Tue, 22nd Mar 2011 6:38 am

@ Anthony.
Yes the joystick was in working condition before the USB cable got cut.
Actually the usb cable I connected is a spare cellphone data cable lying around, not in use so I cut out the USB section and the wires, I tied them up with the joystick wires, I didn’t do any soldering as such.
The color codes aren’t exactly the same, the,
USB cable has:- Red, Black,Green,White,Blue
The joystick has:- Red,White,Blue,Yellow, Brown.
So what I did is connected:-
Red-Red,
White-White
Blue-Blue
Brown-Black
Green-Yellow
Any idea?

Paul S on
Mon, 11th Apr 2011 1:55 pm

HELP PLEASE: MY HP Printer is connected via a USB and I’m recieving the unrecognized device error. I’ve uninstalled the HP Officejet All-in-one J3600, then reinstalled it from the website. then Unplugged, powered down (from direct current) and still it does not recognize device. Any other suggetions is appreciated.

@Kumel – Sorry for not getting back to you right away. The problem with cabling is that, unless you have the diagrams, it is difficult to be sure. And I could not find anything on your gamepad.
Did you try connecting the same colors and changing the Brown-Black to Brown-Yellow and changing the Green-Yellow to Green-Black?

@Paul S. – So your printer is a J3600? And what Windows version is this? Did you uninstall and reboot before reinstalling? And have you tried different USB ports?

Kumel on
Wed, 13th Apr 2011 6:46 am

@ anthony.
No worry, I’ll try changing the wire setup as you have mentioned and see if it works then let you know.
Thanks for the info

Klipper on
Fri, 15th Apr 2011 2:36 am

@kumel did anything work? i’m having the same problem with my usb mouse, except its colors are slightly different

@Klipper – It is a pity that there is so much deviation on the cable colors. Without the schematics it is hard to be sure.
Just know that the default cable colors for USB are:
* RED = 5V+
* BLACK = GROUND
* White = Data –
* GREEN = Data +
The data lines are often twisted.

Resourceful info. I had problems with my joystick usb plug, the fault was in os but I could fix with any of the steps outlined above, Finally switched to windows 7 from xp, it solved.

derrick on
Wed, 18th Jan 2012 2:11 am

uhm i have recently used a usb for my xbox 360 is there anyway to clear it and use it for my computer please help im lost!!!!!!!!

D Berks on
Tue, 24th Jan 2012 11:55 pm

Hi Paul,

did you find a solution to your problem? I am having the EXACT same problem since 4 days. It’s driving me mad…
I tried everyting that is in all the forums, but nothing helpt.
I am guessing it seems something like it enables USB 2.0, but it is not there? May it be a conflict with the BIOS? I update ALL (BIOS, windows drivers etc.).

I truly HATE this problem that seems unsolvable…

Kind regards, Durk Berks

Paul on
Wed, 25th Jan 2012 7:54 am

Hi Durk Berks,

since you’ve already tried everything and it’s driving you mad, you might be right – problem unsolvable…
I tell you what happened in my case finally, something sooo stupid and unexpected.
I’ve updated everything too, even did a new fresh install of Windows, then I’ve striped my PC into pieces to find out my motherboard being unrecoverable from the problem – sold it as is and bought a new one, while at it, I’ve treated myself with a new CPU as well.

Just several weeks later I believe I found out what cuased the problem in my case. One day I tried to plug in a small USB stick – bluetooth receiver – into my ‘new PC’ and the same problem appeared immediately- device not recognized and all my USB plugs running just in 1.1 mode! I removed the stick at once and was happy to see my PC recovered this time.
That’s when I realized that that stick I kept pluged into my ‘old PC’ all the time for several months and used to connect my phone just once or two times. Something happened with the bluetooth receiver meanwhile (maybe overheated?) and that (I believe so) caused the unrecoverable problem with the motherboard and all the USBs.

I’d say whatever USB sticks you’ve pluged into your PC lately try to plug them into another PC/notebook to see if they all work just fine. May help to find an ‘infected USB stick’. Or not, hard to say. Another question is if you can recover your motherboard, probably not…

Paul

D_Berks on
Wed, 25th Jan 2012 11:59 am

Hi Paul,

thx for the quick reply. I am sorry to hear that you did not find a solution either. Although the USB-stick might have been the cause it is a strange finding… I have no other USB-devices plugged in, other than my mouse and keyboard, that i use since the day i bought this computer some 1.5 years ago.

I will now go for a total reinstallation of w7. Hopes it works and it’s not some motherboard breakdown or something…

I’ll let it know if it halps, so others can find this post and may be helped by it…

Best Regards, Durk

sam on
Sun, 19th Feb 2012 9:14 am

hi..my usb worked properly yesterday..but today after receiving photos from my friend through yahoo photo sharing i dragged that folder to my usb..later on when i plugged in again its unable to detected..there is no message shown about whats wrong with it.. its not shown in my computers..tried searching it in disk manger not found in that too..even tried in other laptop but the result is same..i have windows 7…am able to hear the plug in and plug out sound but no other resopnse.please help i have plenty of photos in it…

@sam – Have you checked the Device Manager to see if any device is shown as unknown? If so, try uninstalling that, and rebooting.
Btw, is this a USB memory stick or an external USB hard disk you are having this problem with?

michael on
Sun, 18th Mar 2012 2:51 pm

hello there,im encountdering a problem with a capture card i hope you can solve this.It seems when i plug it in to my laptop,i get the usb ,malfunction error,iv tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers it did not work.My laptop is quite old its a toshiba.Is it to do with my laptop age or is the usb defective?ive tried it into my pc but it worked in my pc just not my laptop.

D. Berks on
Mon, 19th Mar 2012 9:39 am

Hello Micheal,

i finally found the problem. Everything works when i inactivate the USB2 Enhanced Host Controller (but it works in USB 1.1-mode… realy slow). When i switch it to active, everything is not recognized anymore.
Since i do not need any fast USB-connections right now, i am prosponing a new install of w7. But i need it sometime in the future i think…

@michael – Not sure if D. Berks’ solution will work for you, but normally I would not advise disabling USB 2.0 to have devices work in USB 1.1 mode. Especially with devices that benefit from the higher USB speed (like external HDDs and video capture devices), but just check if your capture card is USB 2.0 compatible. And of course see if your USB ports are even USB 2.0 compatible, because if it is an older laptop with USB 1.1 ports, while the capture card requires a 2.0 port, it will also not work.

Samy on
Sat, 16th Jun 2012 1:26 pm

MY HP Printer is connected via a USB and I’m recieving the unrecognized device error. I’ve uninstalled the HP Officejet All-in-one J3600, then reinstalled it from the website. then Unplugged, powered down (from direct current) and still it does not recognize device. Any other suggetions is appreciated.

@Samy – Are you certain the unrecognized device error is caused by the HP Officejet printer? Check the unknown device properties in the Device Manager to make sure.
If it is, then try using a different USB port if possible, sometimes that can already help (configuration data for devices stored at USB port level in the registry can get corrupted).
And if that does not help, please let me know:
– your Windows version
– did this HP Officejet already work on the same computer before?

@Anthony – so I uninstalled USB port hub and re-enabled USB2 controller – at the moment all the devices became not recognized. I disabled the controller again and it’s all being recognized… Just don’t know what to do next.

So I can use my PC as USB 1.1 but not 2.0 very bad.

Did you find a solution ?

Is it a hardware problem ?

Rupak on
Tue, 3rd Jul 2012 11:09 am

Hi,
When I plug my 8 GB HP pen drive into one of the USB ports of my HP laptop, it shows “USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED”.. I tried updating the driver but still facing the same issue. Please have a solution.

Thanks in Advance.

Daniel RAY on
Tue, 3rd Jul 2012 4:48 pm

After many test, I determine at 90% that it is a hardware problem. I buy a Conceptronic PCI to 4 USB 2.0 adapter. This adapter require no driver. I install it and works without any problem. So I have now 4 working USB 2.0 ports for 11.00 €. (13.00$)

My mother is an ASUS P5W DH Deluxe aging about 6 years old.
Time to change.

@Rupak – Have you tried the HP pen drive in a different computer? You should do that first to make sure the USB drive is not the problem.
If it is related to only your computer, try the uninstall of the USB Root Hubs in the Device Manager and rebooting to reset the USB device configurations.
If that does not help, try shutting down the laprop, remove the battery, wait a few minutes and then power back up.
After that plug the HP Pen drive again.

@Daniel RAY – There is always a possibility of a hardware issue, and even if the problem is not hardware related, solving it make take so much time (or appear impossible) that it is better to select the option you did. A PCI USB card is the best solution for a desktop, while for a laptop there are also PCMCIA to USB solutions.
And you are right, even though ASUS motherboards are one of the best, there comes a time to replace it. Also allows you to consider upgrading the overall computer performance with a faster CPU!

Daniel RAY on
Thu, 5th Jul 2012 10:42 am

Thank you for your help and comments.

James G. Harding on
Sat, 4th Aug 2012 7:00 pm

I just purchased the driver fix and was given License #432410 password 3uva9yhga but when I tried to activate the message was that my numbers were incorrect. How do I get this fixed?

@ James G. Harding – Please do not put your license and password on comments like that. Anybody can copy them and use them!
But it could be that you are not using the right details. The best thing to do is to use the license retrieval page of the manufacturer to get the correct details. Just enter your receipt # and email address there (with the captcha) and it will show you the license details.
If that does not work, you can simply contact them on their support page. They have a very responsive customer support team.

My computer and i-tunes will not recognize my ipod shuffle. My computer tries to solve the problem but the answer is “USB mass storage device is not working properly” I am not very good at this so I hope the answer is simple fix. Thank-you for any help.

@Doris – The only thing required for a computer to recognize the apple devices, like an ipod, is to have the right drivers installed for it. In Windows, installing iTunes will automatically install the apple drivers for such devices.
Once a device is plugged, it will be detected and the driver is activated for that device.
Since this is not working for your iPod Shuffle, I suggest you try:
– reinstalling iTunes
– trying a different USB port for your iPod
– installing the device drivers for apple devices separately (instead of relying on the iTunes installation only)

Hope this helps.

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